Overpromise to Achieve Success

In project proposals, organizations often engage in strategic misrepresentation by underestimating costs and overestimating benefits to improve their benefit-cost ratios and secure funding. This practice is acknowledged by leading authorities like Nobel laureate Danny Kahneman, who indicates that presenting realistic outcomes may fail to engage decision-makers. As a result, overpromising becomes a necessary tactic for gaining approval, challenging those commissioning large projects to navigate between misrepresentation and optimism bias.